Wednesday, October 11, 2017

There was a man from Nantucket ?


10 Famous Quotes Everybody Knows—And Gets Wrong

7 comments:

Skoonj said...

Another is that power corrupts. Actually, Lord Acton said Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Unknown said...

Skoonj: This made me think of our friend Barry Farber's version of the alleged Voltaire quote: "I may not agree with what you say, but I will join you on the ramparts with a broken bourbon bottle to defend your right to say it!"

Skoonj said...

Stu, there are dozens of expressions Barry has made over the years. Over the decades. And each of them are terrific. There's a TV commercial running now that I see often for Perillo Tours. In the mid-1960s Barry was sponsored by Mario Perillo, father of the current head of the company, Steve.

Did you know Barry taught me to type, almost literally? His sponsor was Hermes 2000, a portable typewriter. My parents bought me one, together with typing classes. Anyway, Barry has helped me in my life, just by being there.

Unknown said...

Well, Skoonj, he's been a great influence on me, too; I often say he's part of my "pantheon of radio heroes and role models", which also includes Jean Shepherd and Long John Nebel -- although Shep, given his personal "foibles" (one of his own favorite words) hardly qualifies as a role model. Anyway, I too am a big fan of "Farbarisms" (like his description of how he and his wife Sara got along when they first met: "Like a slow waiter and a bad tipper"!), but I was sticking to the one that relates directly to the quote oft-attributed to Voltaire.

Ah, typing! Having that skill has definitely affected my life, but I learned it from Mrs. Sragg (how could I forget that name?), back in our beloved JHS 104! Over the years I've owned a dozen or more typewriters; I even had one at my cabin in Sequim. Somewhere there's a photo of me sitting nude on a stump, typing away on with my trusty Remington on another stump. That's the photo that I always thought would grace the back of the dust jacket of my first book; I guess I'm still working on that. Meanwhile, I still have a couple of portable typewriters, but haven't used them in many years; maybe they're worth something.

'Remember what Hemingway said about Kerouac? "That's not writing, that's typing!"

drew458 said...

Skoonj - I remember Mario, "Mr. Italy". Grew up in that town. He used to share the small corner storefront across from the firehouse with an insurance guy. Perillo-Griffith travel and insurance. Both men made a pretty substantial pile of money.

Unknown said...

At least Mario came across as knowing whereof he spoke. We have a travel agent here in KC who advertises trips to Scotland and pronounces the capital "EdinBERG"! Sheesh, that's worse than pronouncing Houston St. in NYC like Houston, Texas!

Skoonj said...

I liked listening to Mario. His son isn't bad, but I really did like Mario.

Stu, imagine my surprise when I moved to Warner Robins, GA, in Houston County. Damned it it wasn't pronounced like Houston Street!

Drew 458 I had no idea Mr. Italy had such a small operation back then. That was in New Jersey?

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